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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2017 - Regular MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF VINTON TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT 7.00 P.M. ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE VINTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING LOCATED AT 311 SOUTH POLLARD STREET, VINTON, VIRGINIA MEMBERS PRESENT: Bradley E. Grose, Mayor Matthew S. Hare, Vice Mayor Keith N. Liles Sabrina McCarty Janet Scheid STAFF PRESENT: Barry W. Thompson, Town Manager Susan N. Johnson, Executive Assistant/Town Clerk Susan Waddell, Town Attorney Pete Peters, Assistant Town Manager Anne Cantrell, Treasurer/Finance Director Tom Foster, Police Chief Anita McMillan, Planning &Zoning Director Joey Hiner, Public Works Director The Mayor called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Town Clerk called the roll with Council Member Liles, Council Member McCarty, Council Member Scheid, Vice Mayor Hare and Mayor Grose present. Roll call After a Moment of Silence, Council Member Liles led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. The Mayor next called on Chief Tom Foster to give a quote. Chief Foster commented that since it is election day, he would share the following quote from Sir Winston Churchill-­11: has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have ever been tried" and made additional comments, Under upcoming community events, Council Member McCarty announced the following events: November 5-4:30-6:30 p.m.-Mast Band Concert featuring all Of the Roanoke City and Roanoke County Bands-Salem Civic Center; November 10-10 am-2 pm-Open House in honor of Veterans Day- Vinton History Museum; November 10-9-11 am-Free Breakfast for Veterans-William Byrd High School; November 10-5:30-6.-30 p.m.-Blue Ridge Veterans Celebration-War Memorial-, November 3-1 -The Second Man-Star City Playhouse, November 30- Christmas Parade and November 11-Mingle at the Market with Fuzzy Logic-Farmer's Market. She commented on the success of the Downtown Trick or Treat event. Council Member McCarty also announced that Gonna Collins reported that as of November :1't all of the Town's full-time staff is now First Aid/CPA1A D certified and expressed thanks to Volunteer First Aid Chief Wayne Cuffey, Captain Chad Helms, John Foutz and David Rodgers for their assistance with this training. Under requests to postpone, add to or change the order of agenda items, the Town Manager requested that Item J, the Public Hearing concerning the Town's proposed elimination of certain Valley Metro bus stops within the Town's limits be moved to the next item after Item F Consent Agenda, There are several individuals present that rode the RADAR bus and need to meet the pick-up time at .15 p.m. Vice Mayor Hare made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented; the motion was seconded by Council Member McCarty and carried by the following vote, with all members voting; Vote 5-0# Yeas (5) — Liles, McCarty, Scheid, blare, Cruse; Approved minutes of the Regular Nays (0)—lone: Council meeting of October 3, 2017 The next item on the agenda, which was moved from Item J, was the consideration of public comments concerning the Town's proposed elimination of certain Valley Metro bus stops within the Town's limits. The Mayor opened the Public Tearing at 7;10 p.m. and indicated that all comments would be limited to three minutes each. Public Tearing opened The Town Manager commented that at the October 3rd Council meeting, the Finance: Committee recommended that Council move forward with a Public Hearing, The recommendation was based on information provided by Malley Metre that these stops have very low ridership and there are other steps within a block or two that the rulers could use. The Committee also recommended that community meeting be held and a survey created online to receive public input. The Community meeting was advertised and was held on October 30th at the Minton War Memorial from 6:00-7: t1 p.m. with 11 citizens in attendance. A recap of that meeting and a summary of the 18 responses to the survey were provided with the agenda package. Anne Cantrell next showed a PowerPoint slide and commented that during the budget cycle it was determined that the cost of the Valley Metro bus service had grown at a cost much higher than inflation.. The orange line shows what the cost would have been if it had stayed flat with inflation. The purple line shows the increase in the cost that has been growing at a steady rate over the past few years. The Town tanager next commented that the cast was analyzed over the past fiscal year. Of the approximate $120, 00 total, the FIXED Route was 1% or $73,00 and the STAR. Route was 38% or $46,000. Over that time period it was also noted that the ridership had declined, but the cast had continued to rise. The cost is based on mileage and ridership on the FIXED Route and the STAR cost is based strictly on ridership. Malley Metro sets the cost of the rate on the FIXED Route and recently held a Public Nearing on the proposed increase to the FIXED Route cost from $ . C to $1.75 and limiting the number of trips on the STAR unlimited pass to 52. The Finance Committee requested that galley Metro do a ridership study on the Vinton routes, which was done for part of the month of January and all of February 2016. That information was analyzed and it was determined that certain steps along the route were underutilized. -A recommendation was made to consider eliminating stops to reduce the mileage and the cost to the Town. Ms. Cantrell next commented on the slide showing the map of the existing Valley Metro Service in the Town and another showing the proposed elimination of service on Washington Avenue. The Town Manager commented that Carl Palmer and Kevin Price with Valley Metro and Sherman Stovall with the City of Roanoke were present. The Mayor opened up the floor for public comments. A caregiver for Stephen Grammar of C randin Road, Roanoke, first commented that Mr. Grammar was an advocate for the disabled and there a recorded statement from Mr. Grammar was played asking what Valley Metro planned to do with the extra funding that should be created by the rate hikes and bus stop eliminations. Michael Carden of 8 th Street, Vinton, commented that this was happening because of the federal budget cuts and lack of state funding for the localities. Judy Ratcliff of Clearview Manor, Vinton, asked if a rioter would purchase another pass once the 52 stops are used up on the STAR pass. Kevin Price with Valley Metro responded the new proposal would be set by the calendar for each month. The 52 ride pass would go as long as needed and if someone goes over the 52, they would have to buy another booklet. Vice Mayor Flare commented that limiting the unlimited pass has not yet been decided by Valley Metro. Reverend B. Panes of Thrasher Memorial United Methodist {church, Vinton,- commented that individuals that come to the Church on Mondays and Wednesdays as well as to Vinton Baptist depend on the bus service and asked if the route could be adjusted singe there are not sidewalks in some areas. Council Member Scheid asked how many individuals he was talking about and he responded approximately 5-20 on a Wednesday might and approximately five on Monday nights. Dave Jones of Olney Road, Vinton, also commented on the need for the bus service for individuals that come to the Church and to other destinations. He agreed with the suggestion of relocating the route and with limiting the unlimited STAFF pass to 52 and suggested combining trips. With regard to the suggestion of combining trips, Carl Palmer explained that it depended on the proximity and closeness and that they do not want individuals to have to wait too long and have a window of 35-40 minutes. The age; disability and specific destination and time of arrival are also factored in. They would look at this suggestion more closely because it is to their advantage to be more efficient, With regard to Mr. Grammar's question concerning the funding, Council Member Scheid responded that part of the answer for the Town was trying to eliminate some bus stops in order to reduce the impact on the budget. The fare that bus rioters pay whether it is the FIXED or STAR Route does not cover the cost of the service. Her understanding is that the $1.51 currently paid covers approximately one-half of the cast. Mr. Palmer further commented that Valley Metro recovers approximately 3-2 °I from the fare box. For every dollar that they spend to provide the service, only $0.25 comes out of the fare box. The remaining comes from the federal government which is up to 34% and the balance is shared among the local jurisdictions; Ridership i going dawn dramatically all over the country with the State of Virginia being roughly 20% compared to this time last year; They have not reduced the service, but their costs have gone up roughly 2.4% a year for 4 the last ten years. Council Member Scheid asked the reason that ridership has gone dawn %. Mr.. Palmer responded that to an extent, some of it has to do with fuel prices at the gas pump being lower and with ether alternatives For transportation such as lber and others that provide more flexibility and expediency in terms of travel time. . Council Member tiles commented on the number of riders on the buses and asked if Valley Metro had looked at reducing the size of the buses. Mr. Palmer responded that the cost of maintaining two sets of fleets is expensive. The 1 -passenger bus is limited in terms of its capacity depending upon the mobility aids that passengers use. In terms of cost; the cost per lour does not change based on the size of the vehicle because around % of their casts are labor. Mr;. Palmer next commented on the cast of fuel to Malley Metro. Sherry l eckner of Mansard Square, Vinton, commented on her use of the bus service in the past as a single Mom for her and her children. Currently when she uses the bus, she boards at Thrasher Memorial united Methodist Church. If there was not a stop there, she would have to walk up the steep hill on Pine Street. The stops on Washington are needed. Bessie Dunlop of Clearview Manor, Vinton, commented that she does not use the bus system. She then asked why was the survey done in January and February which are the two worst months of the year and the majority of elderly and handicapped people are unable to get out. That would be the reason for the law ridership. Mr. Grammar's caregiver commented on his behalf that he felt they are having to pay more but are taking away some of the local options they have. The Mayor commented that this meeting was to examine the possibility of changing some of the tops. We are not going to eliminate the bus service but wart to make sure it is operating in an efficient and effective manner so we can in fact always maintain some type of bus service in the Town. We want to hear from the citizens because we understand how important this service is and we want to make the right decisions.. April Williams of Mansard Square, Vinton, who was present at the meeting; provided a handwritten statement that she wanted the bus stop at Thrasher Memorial Church to be maintained. Vice Mayer Hare commented that the Town does not control the cast of the bus services. The only thing e can control is how many miles the bus runs in the Town. We are trying to figure out the most efficient way to provide the service to the citizens by eliminating any stops that are not being used or if there are multiple stops close enough together that we can move routes around. We are responsible ultimately for the budget of this community and the projection is that the bus service will cosh us $ 20,000 this year and we only have $100,000 in the budget. Whatever Valley Metro chooses to do with the rates, we are acting on what we can control. In closing, the Mayor commented that the information gathered tonight and at the Community meeting was very important. In his opinion for the immediate future we are going to seethe expense of public transportation continually increase, but the need is not going to go away. The Town wants to make sure that the taxpayers' money is being spent in the best passible manner, but at the same time insuring that our citizens continue to have a bus service in the Town. Council needs to consider this matter further before taking action and the agenda states that action will be taken at the November 21, 2017 meeting or at a later date. The Pudic Hearing was closed at 7: a p.m. Public Taring Closed The next item on the agenda was a briefing on Conceptual Planning Study for Gish's Mill. Pete Peters first commented that earlier this year Council authorized staff to proceed with Hill Studio to conduct a feasibility study can analyzing a number of aspects of the Gish Mill property. He then turned the meeting over to David bill, with Hill Studios. Mr. Hill make opening comments and then gave a Power Paint presentation. A copy of the presentation is n file in the Town Clerk's Office and will be made a part of the permanent record.) Mr. Hill commented on each phase of the process-investigation, draft concept, and development, reviews and concept masterplan. The next step would be to take the draft concepts and host a public meeting to get public comments and then put together a report can be used to solicit developer proposals for the building. Council Member Scheid asked how important would historic tax credits be for this project. Mr. Hill responded that it would be very important and commented on the national initiative to try and redo all the tax credits to include the federal investment tax credits. Pete Peters recommended that we proceed with the public meeting to receive additional input from the citizens. The next steps would be to issue an RFP to see if there are any current interests in the project as it currently stands. Where may be investors that would not need the historic tax credits and have an interest in redeveloping the property with other funding sources. The Mayor asked if Council needed to give their consensus to move ahead and asked if there were any objections to moving ahead with a public Council gave their consensus to meeting. Council gave their consensus. Mr. Peters proceed with a public meeting commented they would schedule the public meeting and would then continue their contract with David Hill to further develop the conceptual plans. if there is an interest in seeking out the historic designations, we would need to continue to work with David dill on that aspect. After we receive sufficient feedback from citizens, we could issue an RFP to see where we stand and where our baseline is from the private sector. Council Member Scheid asked about the parking. Mr. Full responded that with the current zoning, the calculations for the three different schemes showed' two of ahem needed approximately 57 spaces and the residential concept would only need 41 spaces. Each of the site plans allow for between 41 and 46, which is within 10 spaces of what is required. Also, with the greenway across the street and the trailhead parking, the kind of uses we are looking at might be shared parking. The Town Manager commented on the issue of the historic tax credits and asked if Council wanted to pass a resolution at the next meeting to send to the legislators in support of restoring the historic tax credits. After further discussion, the Town Clerk was requested to send Council a draft of the Resolution for their review prier to the next meeting; The next item on the agenda was a briefing on 119, 40.12 grant received from the Department of Motor Vehicles, $79,560.00 in federal funds and the Town's required $39,780.00 in-kind match; for the participation in the DUI Task Force Grant. Chief Faster commented that this is a continuation of the previous agreement from last year. Since the inception of this Task Force in March, there have been 215 DUI arrests, 159 suspended or revoked drivers, 2 felony arrests, 38 drug arrests, two stolen vehicles recovered, four weapons charges and a total of 2,815 traffic stops across the four jurisdictions. He recommended that the Town continue being a part of the Task Force because it is a good investment for the Town as well as the entire Roanoke Valley. The Mayor asked if the $39, 80.€0 was already in the budget. Chief Foster responded that it will come from their fuel and maintenance and repair line items. The next item on the agenda was a briefing can $24,750.00 grant received from the Department of Motor Vehicles, $24,750.00 in Federal funds and the Town's required in-kind match of $8,250. 0 for Overtime Selective Enforcement, training, and equipment. Chief Foster commented that this is a grant that the Department received last year. As he reported at the last Council meeting, in terms of DUID (driving under- the influence of drugs) the Department has surpassed as of September 1, 2017 all of the numbers in 201 . This is due to the availability of these funds that pays our officers to work their off-duty time to focus solely on enforcing DUI laws without having to worry about responding to calls for service. They also gave an additional $900 this year for training and approved the purchase of two L.ADAR(laser/radar combination)units. The next item on the agenda to consider adoption of a Resolution appropriating funds in the amount of $50,000 received from the Virginia Rrownfields restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VSAF) for a Site Assessment and Planning Grant at the site formerly known as Holden's Country Store/Gish's Mill. Anne Cantrell commented that this Planning grant has already been approved, but the codes for the grant had not been created. The funds have been received and we are asking Council to consider the Resolution Adopted Resolution No. 2222 to appropriate the budget. appropriating funds in the amount of $5 ,505 received from the Virginia Vice Mayor Hare made a motion to adapt the Brownfields Restoration and Resolution as presented; the motion was seconded Economic Redevelopment Assistance by Council Member Scheid and carried by the Fund V AF) for a Site Assessment following roll call vote, with all members voting. Vote and Planning Grant at the site -g; Yeas (5);— Files; McCarty, Scheid; Flare; Grose, formerly known as Holden's Country Nays --None. Store/Gish's Mill The next item on the agenda was to consider adoption of a Resolution approving a new General Fund Reserve Policy. The Town Manager first commented that Council was briefed on October e of 8 the proposed changes to the Policy which was originally adopted on November 1 , 2014. This will allow the Treasurer to move up to 1 Million from the {general Fund Deserve to the Operating Account for sufficient operational cash flaw in the General Fund. The new Policy will be effective immediately upon approval and will supersede and replace any previous version. Anne Cantrell commented that the Town Attorney has reviewed the Policy and the staff recommendation is to approve the new Policy. Vice Mayor Rare commented that this Policy was also reviewed in Finance Committee. Council Member Scheid made a motion to adopt the Resolution, as revised; the motion was seconded by Council Member Liles and carried by the following roll call vote, with all members voting: Vote - ; Adopted Resolution No. 2223 Yeas ( -- Liles, McCarty, Scheid, bare; Grose; approving a new General Fund Nays (t)— None. Deserve Policy The Town Manager react a letter from the Treasurer of the First Christian Church on 6h Street in Vinton expressing appreciation to Wait bash and his crew at Public Works for the recent sidewalk repair. Under reports from Council Committees, Council Member McCarty reported from the Public Works Committee. The Western Virginia dater Authority water customers in the Vinton service area whose meters were being read by the Water Authority, but billed by the Town will now be billed by the Authority. The Committee discussed the issue of a privacy fence in the right-of-way can Shelbourne Avenue and recommended that the property owner be required to remove the part of the fence that encroaches the right-of-way: Vice Mayor blare asked if this should have gone through Planning and Anita McMillan responded that Planning regulates anything on private property, but anything that is in the public right-of-way that is not zoned is handled b administration and Public Works. With regard to the rights-of-way mowing ordinance, the Committee will be discussing this further and will bring a recommendation back. to Council at a later date. They reviewed the refuse collection dour hanger that will be used to leave messages for residents that are not complying with the code. There is a new load rating for bridges for Special Hauling Vehicles and the Town"s contractor for bridge inspections will be conducting this load rating for the Garthright Bridge. The new Walnut Avenue 9 Bridge had the rating done at the time of construction, The Committee discussed vacating portions of two alleys at the 200 block of lest Virginia Avenue. The Town Manager commented that there will be a meeting scheduled to further discuss the matter with Ir. Collins at Valley Monument, The Committee also reviewed the vehicles on the Utility CIP list. The sewer combination jetterlvacuum truck, dump truck outfitted with snow blade and salt spreader and two regular-sized pick-up trues will be presented as a package in an attempt to find favorable financing; The Mayor commented that a decision needs to be made about the refuse truck. It involves one of the core services and the existing vehicle continues to cast money, When the truck was previously discussed, a determination was never made as to the type of truck we wanted to buy because we wanted to consider the purchase of certain garbage cans. The Public Works Committee recommended a refuse truck that would be equipped with the hydraulics so that we could in the future use it with trash cans. Vice Mayor Flare commented that we do not have the funds to pay for the truck and Council needs to decide what we are not going to do this year if this is what we need to fund, Joey Hiner commented that the price of the truck was around $220-240,000 for the standard truck including the retrofit for the tippers. After further discussion, the Mayor further commented that we need to decide which route we want to go and then decide if we want to finance the purchase or take it out of reserve. He then asked the Finance Committee along with staff to make some recommendations back to Council, e Mayor commented on the success of the recent Downtown Trick or Treat-and the Lunch and Learn sponsored by the Chamber's Economic Development Committee. He announced that the Chamber i promoting a Shop Local time from November 2 ' to December 2nd and that there are several events corning up for the Veterans Day weekend, Comments from Council: Council Member Liles reminded everyone of the Mate of the Town on November 16 ' and the last Mingle on November 1 t ; 1 Council Member Scheid asked if the contract with l lacado's required there to be opened by the end of the year, Mr. Peters>responded there are terms in the Performance Agreement to that effect, but the incentives will be subtracted from the duration that they are late opening. She then asked if we have an idea what the timeframe is for opening and Mr. Peters responded Saint Patrick's tray is the latest date that he has heard. Council Member Scheid next asked abut Cyr. Jessup's business and Mr. Peters indicated that the last time he reached out to him that his intention was to move back into Vinton when he got his building back in good shape:. He will follow up with him again. Council Member Liles made a motion to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Council Member McCarty carried by the fallowing vote, with all members voting: Vote -0; Yeas ( ) files, McCarty, Scheid, stare, Grose, days (0) cane. The meeting was adjourned at 9:27 p.m. Meeting adjourned APPROVED: VED: 404 00a-e- Bradley E. Grose, Mayor ATTEST Susan N. Johnson, C,Town Clerk